Broken Shackles
by VaingloriousHound
Summary: Harry is freed from slavery and returns to a world full of mad wizards, Dark Lords and irresponsible use of magic. With a new Mistress and some mad dragons, telling him to be their King, how will his life turn out?
1. Chapter 1

**Harry Potter**

 **Broken Shackles**

 **Chapter 1:**

 **Freedom  
**

Today was an important day. Today Harry would need to wake up early and prepare the main room for the guests. His Master was expecting the Ladys of the town, therefore the rooms had to be presentable as had Harry himself. So he rose early and left his bedroom. He worked long and hard to have gained his own room. No longer did Harry have to sleep with the other servants in the big dormitory in the basement. He was the Masters personal servant and because of that was in the room right next to him. Today, albeit Harry didn't know, was his 16th birthday. About 15 years ago, he was taken from his home, taken by vile and strong magic that crushed space. On Halloween all these years ago, Lord Voldemort, the darkest wizard of the era, had tried to kill him. The evil man murdered Harry's parents and then failed to kill the infant. The killing curse rebounded on the Dark Lord and destroyed him. But the impact of the curse ripped space apart and little Harry disappeared from Godric's Hollow.

He reappeared in south Egypt. And unfortunately for Harry, he was found by slave traders. For years he was pushed around and worked until he was sold to a wizard. Said wizard knew who Harry was. The stories of his defeat of Voldemort reached far and wide. So at the age of eight, Harry received his name. The wizard that bought him was an evil man. He dealt in illegal potions and ran a prostitution ring for years before he was assassinated by a rival. Harry was 12 when he witnessed his Master being beheaded.

He was taken by the assassin and delivered to the man's Master. This man was his Master until today. Andrew Gart was an old english noble man who left the UK and lived in Germany. He too was dealing with potions and illegally charmed muggle artifacts. Harry had many jobs. He was a test subject, trained to be an assassin, a bodyguard when needed and he was given to the female competitors to gain favors.

He had no easy life. Mistakes were harshly punished and tardiness even more so. Having killed multiple other assailants and nearly dying on guard duty more than once had left Harry scarred and with a cold heart. The fact that he was ordered to entertain the women his Master dealt with, was something Harry was in no way proud of. And today was another such occasion. But Harry would do what his Master ordered him to do, for he was his Master and Harry was his servant. After all, he had no other purpose, no other use.

When Harry stepped into the hallways he had donned his best robes. He was only to wear them if ordered and today was quite important after all. The four Ladys visiting were reluctant to let Master Gart sell his wares in their establishments and Harry, along with some Galleons, was supposed to make them willing. Harry didn't look forward to being a toy again but his Master ordered him so he would do his very best.

"Master.", Harry called as he knocked at the big wooden doors of his Masters chambers, "It is time. The Ladys will arrive soon." After a short silence the doors opened. A tall elderly man with short grey hair and an impressive beard looked with his deep blue eyes directly in Harry's green ones. His navy blue robes were made of the finest silk and his wooden cane was ornate with many rubies. "You have your orders." Andrew Gart's voice was harsh and cold. He tolerated no disobedience, so Harry had learned early on. He bore the scars still.

With a curt nod and a "Yes, Master." Harry marched of to the parlor to prepare the reception. He opened the door and was about to magically ignite all the candles when a wand was pressed into his throat.

"No move, boy!", a gruff, disembodied voice growled, "Lead us to Andrew Gart and you will live!" Harry's mind was on fire. He could see several more wands without bodies trained at him. These people wanted to hurt his Master, but a servant always protects his Master.

So with one fluid move of his arm, he ripped the wand that was held against his throat from the assailant and casted the strongest shield charm he could muster. The shield pushed the man in front of him back, the invisibility cloak fell of and revealed the face of a mangled man with too many scars and one madly swirling magical eye and a peg leg. The man was well known to all wizards and even servants like Harry. This man was Alastor Moody, legendary Auror and currently in pursuit of Harry's Master.

An unfortunately, the Master entered the room just then.

The barrage of spell fire drowned whatever words he screamed.

Harry's shield didn't last long. It shattered after about 5 seconds and he turned to push his Master out of the room but a cutting curse sliced the man in half, killing him instantly.

Harry dropped to his knees.

His Master was dead. A slave without a Master held no purpose, no reason, nothing to validate his existence.

With these thoughts he was knocked out by a stunner.

Moody approached the boy he had just stunned and turned him around.

"Merlin be damned...", he mumbled as he stared at Harry's face. Could that be him? Could the boy be alive after nearly 15 years? Albus needed to know about this.

The Aurors worked fast. They encountered no more problems after taking out Gart and managed to extract the boy and Gart's body. While the body was given to the Ministry, Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt took Harry to Hogwarts. Despite the summer break, the headmaster Albus Dumbledore was in his office. The old wizard was still surprised to see someone exit the floo.

"Alastor.", he greeted the grizzled Auror, "What do I owe your visit to?"

"Albus, you will be very surprised by our findings in our last raid."

Just then the dark skinned Auror exited the floo, levitating a body behind him.

Albus greeted Kingsley and stood from his chair to see why the two Aurors had brought a body with them.

As he got close enough to see the boy's face, his old heart nearly stopped. "By the stars... It can't be... Harry...", Albus muttered, "He looks just like his father..."

"With his mothers eyes.", Moody supplied.

Albus swallowed heavily. "Was he...?"

"A slave?", the grizzles Auror asked. "Yes. We checked him over and..."

The headmasters expression was grave. Ever since little Harry had defeated the Dark Lord and vanished, he had searched for him but after 12 years, Albus had lost hope. "What, Alastor?", he asked, fearing the answer.

"He has more scars than I do. Most of the are from severe torture and some are battle scars.", Moody said in a toneless voice. The scars on his back barely left any skin untouched. Badly healed wounds all over his torso and some burn marks marred his body. The boy was trained and looked older than he was. He appeard to be around twenty, most likely a result of too many strengthening potions an whatever else experiments were performed on him. Alastor told Albus that there were no magical seals or curse marks on him.

Dumbledore nodded and sat in one of the armchairs in front of his desk. Today was Harry's 16th birthday. He should be happy in his sixth year in Hogwarts by now but fate held only cruelty for the boy. Maybe now that could be changed. He told Kingsley to place the boy in the hospital wing and return to the Minister and inform him to come to Hogwarts.

Hogwarts was mostly vacant at this point. Being the 31st of July nearly all student had left. All but one had left.

Ginny Weasly was in a bed in the hospital ward when the door bust open and a dark skinned man levitated a young man to the bed besides her. Ginny pretended to sleep and tried to hear what the man told Madam Pomfrey bit she didn't understand them. She did hear the matron gasp and she hurry of to her potions while the man left.

Ginny looked at the figure in the bed besides her. He had messy black hair that were contained in a short pony tail. His glasses sat shrewd on his nose. The robes he wore were a tight fight and looked as worn as her own.

All in all the young man was quite something to look at, so Ginny decided. Maybe that would distract her from the constant nightmares. These nightmares and her pleas to Madam Pomfrey where the one of the reasons she was still at Hogwarts. She did not want to go home. Ever since she was possessed by Tom in her first year and nearly died, her family avoided her like some pest. And the bullying didn't help either.

Ginny glared a hole into the ceiling when ahe heard a groan from besides her. The young man's eyes fluttered open. His vibrant emerald green eyes scanned the room. He fixed his gaze on her and Ginny met him head on. For several seconds neither of them spoke.

"Are you my Mistress?"

Ginny looked confused at the young man.

 _Mistress?,_ Ginny wondered. But it did have a nice ring to it so she wouldn't correct him. "What's your name?", she asked.

His eyes lit up, literally, as he stood straight, placed a hand above his heart and bowed deeply. "I am Harold, Mistress, though all Masters before had called me Harry."

Ginny was mesmerized by the glow Harry emitted. "Ok...", she said and the glow flashed brightly before it vanished, "Harry, what are you doing here? I don't remember seeing you in Hogwarts before."

Harry lifted his head. "I do not know, why I am here or how I got here, Mistress. I apologize for being unable to answer!" He bowed once more in apology. Ginny was startled by his behavior and hopped out of her bed to straighten him. But her knees where still weak from her lack of sleep and the pain potion for her cramps, so she stumbled forward only to be caught in Harry's arms.

Ginny recoiled violently, pushing Harry away as hard as she could. She did not want to controlled in any way. If Ginny wasn't in control, Tom was and she would never let that happen again.

"Don't touch me!", she hissed, barely able to remain upright. Harry flinched back, Ginny's push had no effect whatsoever, yet Harry dropped to his knees, his forehead hit the the cold stone floor hard enough to draw blood. "Forgive me, Mistress!", he stammered.

With Harry kneeling on the floor and Ginny hanging at the edge of her bed, Albus Dumbledore walked into the hospital wing.

"Ah, Miss Weasly, it seems you have met Harry already.", he said in his grandfatherly voice. He walked over to her, desperately trying to ignore Harry on the floor for now. But the moment he stepped within arms reach of Ginny, Harry shot up and stood between them, eyes blazing. "Do you mean to harm Mistress?", he asked.

Albus had damn near drawn his wand at the boy in surprise. But what surprised him even more was the fact that Harry had called Ginny Mistress and the magic he emitted. He managed to regain his composure. "By no means, my boy, I wish to inquire how she's fairing today."

Harry stared into Dumbledore's eyes and what Albus could see in them was terrible.

Ginny pushed Harry aside. He didn't resist at all. "Professor, I'm quite fine by now. But I don't know who Harry here is, he isn't a student as far as I can tell."

Albus ripped his gaze from Harry and looked at Ginny. "Miss Weasly, did you, by any chance, agree to be Harry's Mistress?"

Ginny looked confused. "I... what?"

"Harry here calls you his Mistress. Did you deny that you are his Mistress?", Albus asked.

Ginny stared at Harry while speaking. "I... I don't think I corrected him, I ignored it. What does that mean?"

Albus sighed and sat down on the bed Harry had occupied. "Harry here was rescued from a mansion in southern Germany just today. He was a slave there, Miss Weasly, and his former Master died before his eyes. I am not entirely sure why, but young Harry here doesn't seem to be keen on his newly acquired freedom. Whatever they did to him...", Dumbledore took a deep breath, "Harry searched for a new Master to serve. Or Mistress in your case."

Ginny just stared at Albus. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Harry invoked ancient magic to bind himself to you as a slave and servant. You did not deny being his Mistress. That alone was enough.", Albus explained with a pensive look.

"What?!", Ginny shouted, "I don't want-"

But Albus stopped her. "Please Miss Weasly, don't say that! If you were to deny him or send him away the magical contract he forged would kill him!" His voice was urgent so Ginny fell silent. She looked at Harry. The man who just bound himself as her slave. "Who even are you?", she asked him.

Harry bowed deeply before answering. "I held no name until I was eight. I was named Harold, no further name given. I was educated to do any work necessary from cleaning to assassination. My magic is strong and at my Mistress' command."

"No family name?", Ginny wonder aloud.

"I am a slave. A slave has no family. A slave has a Master.", came Harry's answer. Albus shuddered at his toneless voice.

"Miss Weasly. He does have a family name and I am sure you know it. His name is Harry Potter.", Albus told her. Ginny's mouth fell open and even Harry looked at Albus.

"You mean...? He... But why? Everyone said he lives in hiding somewhere!", Ginny hissed. Albus shook his head. "I'm afraid that was a lie. Young Harry disappeared after killing Voldemort. We knew he was alive but had no idea where. We couldn't tell the world he vanished. We needed to recover from war and Harry was a beacon of hope for everyone. Telling them would have done no good."

Ginny glared at the floor, ignoring Harry's attentive gaze. She had loved to hear the stories about the boy who lived all these years ago. He had been her hero, the lonely boy she wanted to marry to give him back his family. But Ginny had changed ever since her first year in Hogwarts. Being possessed and forced to attack student because of a diary that would write back to you, that didn't just pass by her. Students were wary of her, her family discretely ignored her existence. She mostly stayed in school over the holidays, even summer. Naturally she had no friends and the Slytherin pure blood morons were harassing her every chance they got. The train rides home, if she really rode it home, had always been extremely unpleasant, for there was no where to hide from Malfoy and his lackeys. She was no longer believing in heroes. Ginny just hoped to find a job that paid enough money for her to live of it. And somehow, having a slave, didn't really fit in there. But if he would die if she sent him away... She couldn't do that.

Ginny faced Harry. "Ok, if this is supposed to work, you can't call me Mistress. Call me Ginny.", she instructed him, trying to sound somewhat commanding. Harry nodded. He understood that maybe having a servant was not to be public knowledge. "If Ginny does not want others to know that I am her servant, I shall do my utmost to hide that." Ginny blinked, surprised. She didn't expect that he thought about that. His behavior and his servility made him seem somehow dull. Ginny shook her head. She should be the last to superficially judge people. Albus nodded, still thoughtful. "Thank you, Miss Weasly. Harry is very important, despite the fact that we thought him lost." His expression turned grave. "But be aware, Harry will not deny you any command or wish. He considers himself yours. Harry will do everything he can to protect you. As bizarre as that may be now, it may be some good for you in your situation, Miss Weasly." Ginny was about to respond but the door to the hospital wing swung open once again and the dark skinned man entered, followed by a man she knew. The Minister of Magic. How she loathed the man. If not for Dumbledore, he would have shipped her straight to Azkaban.

Cornelius Fudge.

Harry could see Ginny's anger well up at the sight of the middle aged man in his dark gray robes. He positioned himself in front of her.

"Harry Potter! By Merlin's beard! My boy it is a true relief to see you alive!", Fudge approached Harry, a hand outstretched in greeting. Harry spared the hand no glance, instead he stared into the mans eyes. "Corrupt.", was all Harry said before he stared at Kingsley. "Just.", he said and turned around to Ginny. "Do you wish to leave here, Ginny?"

Ginny's mouth twitched in amusement as the Minister's jaw hit the floor and Kingsley bit back a laugh. "Yes, I do want to leave.", she said and walked past the stunned Minister out of the door, Harry right besides her. Dumbledore choose to ignore the Minister and started to talk with Kingsley about the other raids of evil wizard mansions. The next year surely would be interesting.

When Ginny reached the staircases she stopped abruptly. She needed to clear some things up. "Harry.", she said slowly, still he flinched slightly, "I understand that I am your Mistress as per magic. Is that right?" Harry nodded. "Ok, I am your Mistress, but you are not a slave. Do you understand?" His green eyes widened in confusion. "You are my Mistress but I am not your slave? What am I then?", he asked quietly. Ginny raised an eyebrow. "You are Harry Potter of course!"; she exclaimed with a slight smile. Harry looked at her wide eyed. "But I... a slave, nothing else... I...", his eyes displayed a multitude of emotions from fear to happiness and confusion. Ginny sighed. "To your former Master, you were a slave. To me, your Mistress, you are Harry Potter. As easy as that.", she said and after thinking for a second she added, "Understood?" Harry snapped out of his musing. He was supposed to be Harry Potter for his Mistress so that's what he was going to do. A slave... no... Harry followed the orders of his Mistress.

And for the first time in all his life, Harry felt something that others knew as freedom. It was strange. Even though he had his orders, there was nothing absolute in them. He was supposed to be himself, something he never was before. If Ginny wanted to hide the fact that he was hers, he would have to study how to be normal. Again something new.

Harry and Ginny walked down the halls of Hogwarts and Harry tried to map out the area. The castle was enormous, but if Harry wanted to serve his Mistress well, he needed to know his way around her... school? Or more like residence? Whatever she preferred. On the way Ginny showered him with questions. She asked about his life up to this point, who his other Masters were, what kind of spells he knew, and when she asked about the tasks his Masters gave him, Ginny was a little more than just shocked. "You... he had you do what?", she asked, kind of hoping she had misheard. "I was to please the female competitors to gain favors and extend the trade range.", Harry answered tonelessly, but on the inside he was ashamed. While he was a slave, he still managed to have something like morals. Morals he choose to ignore for his Masters. The hope that Ginny would not have him do something like this was faint, but the way she sputtered and questioned his former Masters mental integrity, lit a small flame in his heart.

Today, he was Harry Potter and for once in a very long time, he was happy to oblige the orders of his Mistress. They stalked through the long hallways of Hogwarts until they reached the portrait of a fat lady, sitting in a chair. "Password.", she demanded tonelessly. "Snitches.", Ginny replied and the portrait swung open. Stepping inside, they entered the empty common room. The fire was crackling in the fireplace, armchairs and a couch surrounding it. Ginny flopped down in one of the chairs and pulled out a book from her robes that read _The Art of Combative Magic_. Harry stood a little lost behind the couch, staring at the fire. "Sit.", Ginny said after a while, "You don't have to stand all day." With an awkward smile, Harry sat down on the couch. Harry was about to break the long silence when suddenly, the witch from the Hospital wing burst in the common room. "Mr. Potter! I believe you have some salves to apply!" Harry eyed her in confusion and then locked eyes with her. He found no evil intend towards his Mistress and him. He rose from his seat and stood to his full height before Madam Pomfrey. "Excuse me, Madam?", he asked, "Did you need something from M-.. Ginny?" The witch huffed in annoyance. "I believe I told you, Mr. Potter, that your back needs treatment! Of with the shirt!", She commanded. Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow and turned a questioning look to Ginny. She just nodded. If he needed treatment so badly that Madam Pomfrey came for him, he should do as she said. Harry acknowledged her approval of what was asked of him and promptly, wandlessly vanished his shirt. Ginny dropped her book into her lap. Hot damn, the man was built, and all these scars. Indeed, the ones on his back still locked fresh. Poppy urged him to turn around so he came to face Ginny, while the medi-witch applied the slave to his back. Ginny was quite awed at his body and felt the slightest bit warmer all of sudden. The fire was to blame for that, surely it was. She picked up her book again and tried to focus on it, but continued to sneak glances at Harry. Said boy was amused. His Mistress was holding her book upside down. With a wave of his hand, the book spun around, startling Ginny. She promptly turned impossibly red and stood up. "I'll be in my room!", she squeaked and hurried up the stairs.

"All done, Mr. Potter. I shall leave you now.", Poppy excused herself and left. Harry though, did not move. Had he angered his Mistress? He had to ask.

So Harry set out to step into territories no man had ever stepped into. The girls dormitories.

...

A/N: So... I was bored coming up with plot for 'Blind Light' and started to write this. The 'Harry-returns-after-years-of-god-knows-what! plot isn't exactly original anymore but I still felt like writing it. I am currently writing three more Harry Potter stories, One for Mass Effect, and even one for Dragon Quest 8. Well, that's what I'm doing, trying to think of ways to kill Kiba. Have fun with this for now.


	2. Destiny and rude old man

**Broken Shackles**

 **Harry Potter**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Destiny and rude old man  
**

His fist step into the staircase was interesting, to say the least. Without any warning, the stars flattened, creating a smooth slide on which his foot slipped down. Harry took a step back and examined the stairs before reaching into the door frame with his hand. There was and electric crackling, followed by the sound of shattering glass. The moment the noise subsided, Harry stepped onto the stairs and made his way up as if nothing ever prevented it in the first place.

To Ginny, today's events were still a little hard to believe. She managed to get herself a magically bound servant. Much like a house elf. But not just any servant, Merlin forbid something remotely normal happened to her. No, the young man that was bound to her was no other than Harry Potter, vanquisher of a Dark Lord and, if the stories were true, a dragon riding magical overlord living Merlin's legacy. There were also stories about him being a male Veela. While Ginny never believed such stupid unreal things, now she may think that the Veela thing held a grain of truth. Or half a Veela, for that matter.

She sighed into her pillow and rolled around in her bed. Suddenly she stilled, as her lower body decided that a good ol' dose of pain was needed. Ginny groaned and tried to reach the wand on her nightstand, face still buried in the pillow.

A sudden warmth hit her and the pain all but vanished. She yelped in surprise and looked up. Before her bed, a softly glowing palm extended towards her, crouched her newest 'possession'. His expression was neutral but his eyes conveyed concern.

"Is Mistress better now?", he asked as he rose and stood before her, bowing slightly.

"I... Yes, I am, thank you.", Ginny said, before she came to realize that a boy was standing in her dorm room. "How did you get up here?"

Harry's expression moved into something pained as he dropped to his knees. "My apologies! I shouldn't have come here! Please, punish me as you see fit, Mistress!"

With a bewildered expression, Ginny shook her head. "No, no I... Stand, please!", she told him. "I don't... I won't ever punish you for helping me. I was just surprised you could do that and even more surprised that you managed to get up here. How did you do that? Getting up here, I mean."

Uncertain, Harry rose and looked into his Mistress' eyes. Indeed, there was no anger, so he told her. "There was an enchantment that prevented me from reaching you. I can only serve if I can reach you, Mistress, therefore, I circumvented it and came up to see if I had upset you."

Ginny gaped at him. "You mean, you messed with the enchantment? An enchantment from Hogwarts herself?", she asked in awe.

He shook his head. "No, Mistress, I merely asked to gain entry to fulfill my duty."

"Oh... and Hogwarts allowed you up here?"

"Yes, Mistress."

Ginny pondered on this a while. "Ok, that's fine then. If Hogwarts lets you pass, it means you bear no ill will.", she said and added as am afterthought "And please, call me Ginny. Calling me Mistress makes me feel so... old."

Harry managed a smile. "Of course, Ginny."

 **HP**

Gellert Grindelwald was one of the greatest wizards of his time. Evil he may have been, but great none the less. He died in his final duel with Albus Dumbledore in Godric's Hollow.

Or so it was believed. Actually, Gellert survived Albus' last spell and disaparated into a nearby forest. While he suspected Albus to be aware of his survival, the old wizard never acted upon this knowledge.

But his supposed death had some really good side effects. One was him reevaluating his actions. The tragedies of his life had led him to a dark path, away from his origins. Yes, originally, Gellert had a destiny as Lord over some of the most ancient creatures in this realm.

Dragons.

While he himself always wondered how he came to be in this position, it was exposed to him only after he faked his own death. Magic itself, or rather, the collective of magical energies, had come to the conclusion that there must be humans acting as conductors to ensure balance and peace.

Seeing that he choose to ignore his fate at that time, he now paid the price.

The ancient dragons had not been happy with his mindless pursuit of world dominance. Now, that he was too old, he was to seek out the next in line, the next conductor, the next king. But where to search?

 **HP**

Hogwarts was an interesting place. Harry managed to go through the day without any orders, which was something he never did before, and was now accompanying Ginny on her stroll through the grounds.

"So... tell me about your abilities. You said you had a whole lot.", she asked him when they stopped beneath an apple tree. Harry stopped besides her, standing to attention, until Ginny pulled him down to sit besides her.

"Which skills in particular, M-", Ginny gave him a sharp look, "(cough) Ginny?", he asked.

Ginny shrugged. "Your magical skills, I suppose." Harry nodded and extended an arm. Before the two of them was a stone, as big as Ginny's fist. It started to float upwards and landed gently in her lap. While she eyed it carefully, it suddenly changed shape. Now there lay a beautiful golden wolf-figure.

"Wow, that is beautiful!", she gasped and held the wolf carefully, turning it and looking into it's emerald green eyes. "Where did you get the idea from?"

Harry stood from besides her and was now standing in front of her. "Harry?" Then, Harry's body suddenly turned completely black as he was swallowed by a ball of black fur. He shrunk down and when the fur receded, there stood a magnificent black wolf, with a lightning shaped pattern on his head. His eyes shone emerald green.

"You are an animagus? That's awesome! And soooo fluffy! Can you teach me how to do that?", Ginny gushed and scratched Harry's ear. If a wolf could look embarrassed, Harry definitely did. He nodded his head and changed back. Ginny pouted at the loss of the soft fur.

"If you want me to teach you what I know, I will gladly do so M-... Ginny." Harry silently cursed himself for nearly calling her Mistress, but Ginny beamed at him.

"Really?", she asked, eyes sparkling with joy. Harry just nodded and bowed, extending a hand for her to take in order to help her up.

In record time, Ginny led Harry to the Room of Requirements. The inside was a very big and open room. A fluffy blanket with countless pillows occupied the center of the room. At the far back a cozy fire crackled in the fireplace.

Harry looked around in wonder. The room was exactly how he needed it. Maybe that explained the name. Turning to Ginny, he realized that she was staring at him expectantly. He shuffled uneasily.

Rolling her eyes, Ginny spoke.

"Harry, I asked you to teach me, yes?" He nodded. "So, you will need to tell me what to do.", she concluded. Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"I... I can't just order you! I am not supposed to!", he told her.

"But you won't. You will simply tell me what I need to do."

"... Okay then." With a strained intake off air, he seemingly relaxed. "I need you to sit on the floor, as relaxed as possible."

Having found a comfortable place, Ginny sunk into the pillows and looked at Harry.

"To become an animagus, one first needs to find out his nature, the animalistic part of ones magic.", he explained.

"To do that, you need to look at yourself through your minds eye. Unconsciously, your magic already knows what you are, so you only need to find it."

"And how am I going to look at myself like that?", Ginny asked, already wondering what she might be.

"I would say meditation."

She raised an eyebrow. "How did you do it?"

"I was fed potions."

Ginny beamed. "So, can you make these for me?"

He looked uneasy. "I can... but they are not safe. Dangerous even."

"What do you mean?", Ginny asked.

"It... It forced me into a hallucinogenic coma for around a month." Harry shuddered. "All alone in my head with... all these memories I... I nearly went insane..."

"I'm sorry! Please, forget the potion. Let's just go with the meditation thing!" Ginny shifted in her seat and relaxed, hoping that the topic was done with.

Harry nodded, visibly relieved, and instructed her how to enter her own mind.

After three hours of nothing, Ginny opened her eyes and was about to vent her frustration, but when she looked around she was no longer in the Room of Requirements.

She was sitting in a dense forest, surrounded by red wildflowers that seemed to go on indefinitely all through the woods. Ginny scanned her surroundings in confusion.

 _"Is this inside me? What is this?",_ she wondered.

At first she seemed to be alone, but then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted two shapes in the shadows. Her eyes grew wide when the animals approached her. Suddenly, they spoke...

 **HP**

Harry was carefully watching his M-, Ginny, as she slouched even more an her magic began to hum softly through the room.

To help her magic stabilize, he transformed into a wolf and curled up around her. Much to his surprise, she leaned back into his side. By means of an animagus, that could mean that hers was similar. Or she simply fell backwards. Whatever the case may be, Harry would have to watch over Ginny for the next few hours until she properly connected to her nature. The fact that her magic hummed in the air was a good sign. He was just happy that her magic wasn't as powerful as his. With Harry, his magic did not hum in the air, it set the air ablaze for most of his coma like state. Three people were incinerated back then. Not something he liked to remember.

After he nearly fell asleep a few times, Ginny stirred. No, not only that. Her magic rippled, moved and adjusted to something new. Powerful. It was familiar to him. Both of it. She was like him. What kind of sick coincident was that? How big where the odds, to end up with probably the only person other than himself in this world that was like him? Who, like him, was a wolf as much as she was a dragon? Certainly ridiculous. Who would have thought?

Ginny's eyes fluttered open and she blinked into the light. Sleepily she turned around on her pillow and hugged it closer. She was feeling wonderful, so alive! A damn dragon! _And a wolf!_ How freaking cool was that?! Now, she needed to transform. The question was... how? Well, she had Harry to help her. At the thought of him, she raised her head from her pillow. Where was he? Again blinking she looked around the room. She couldn't see him in any corner of the room nor in any chair or couch. But where could he be? Then the pillow under her rose suddenly, lifting her with it.

"Woah!", she squeaked when she slipped of it. She then realized that her pillow was not a pillow, but a wolf. A wolf she remembered Harry to be.

"Harry! When did you end up there?", she asked as he shifted back. Ginny could see the deep scowl in his features. "Whats wrong?", she asked him.

"Someone's coming.", he said, "Someone powerful." Harry waved his hand and the room changed, shrunk down to the size of a smaller version of the common room.

"Who is coming?", the redhead asked, slightly scared by his seriousness. He looked at her with the eyes of a man that had seen things she wouldn't want to imagine.

"Please. Trust me, Ginny. I don't know who it is or how he is doing it, but someone is forcing his way through all of the protective wards of Hogwarts and mine to get to us. I will do what is necessary to protect you. So please, trust me." Harry held a hand out for her to take.

Ginny regarded his hand and looked him in the eyes. Not a second after she had taken his hand, space rippled mere meters away from where they where standing. The air around the chasm exploded outwards just after Harry pulled Ginny towards him and pushed his own power outwards against the force. The smaller room pushed against the huge amount of air that was expelled and with a thunderous crack, the rip, pitch black, as it floated there, shot out an object moving to fast to see. It collided with Harry's back, or rather, the sheer wall of magic he held there. Ginny screamed as the air cracked visibly like ice, announcing the impending destruction of Harry's shield. But Harry didn't let it happen. His eyes flared green, the skin beneath his eyes became scales and from his back along the spine he grew a set of spikes.

Now partly transformed into a dragon, he pushed harder and harder against what now was identifiable as a hooded man with a spear. Seeing now way for himself to overpower that man, Harry leaned sideways and turned left, letting the spear bounce of, catapulting the man past him and Ginny.

The hooded man hit the wall with enough force to make it crack and the room quake. The rip in space closed itself shortly after he shot out and Harry was still on full alert. With an upward thrust of his hand, the smoke around the crater in the wall vanished. Immediately after he spotted spotted the figure again, he hit him with the strongest paralyzing curse he could muster and sank to his knees, breathing heavily.

"What the hell was that?!", Ginny shouted as she knelt down besides Harry.

"I... don't know...", he panted, trying to stand up again. Ginny pulled him up, having him lean on her. They watched for any indication of movement from the hooded man but he just continued to lay flat on the ground, not even twitching.

"Who could that be?"

"I don't know...", Harry panted, "But if it's not Dumbledore it is at least someone of equal power..."

Harry stumbled over to the prone man and pushed his hood of his head. The man was old. Quite old, with a thick, short kept gray beard. His hair was neatly combed back, fixated by a black hair clip that seemed oddly out of place on such an old man. His eyes were moving. Gray eyes, cold and strong were calmly surveying his surroundings until they fixated on Harry.

"You, you are like me." Ginny looked at Harry strangely.

"What do you mean?", she asked.

"He is a dragon. A old one at that.", he whispered back and leaned down to touch the mans forehead. Hissing as if he had burned his hand, Harry withdrew his hand. The man's eyes blinked and his body stirred. Groaning, he sat up. Harry and Ginny backed away a few steps.

"Bloody hell! I bloody _hate_ traveling like that! I damn near murdered someone again!", the man cursed. He pushed himself up with the spear he had nearly impaled Harry on. Flicking debris of his cloak, he turned to face Harry.

"Well look whom I found. Harry _bloody_ Potter, the next moron to deal with the overgrown lizards."As if a foul taste had invaded his mouth when he mentioned the lizards, he spat out. "Finally. Took you long enough to come out of your hidey-hole, didn't it? Imagine if I had accidentally killed you back there... Uh damn..."

"You are not supposed to be alive.", Harry said, positioning himself in front of Ginny. "How? Did Albus not look for a body?"

The man snorted. "'course the old fool didn't look. He was too concerned about his sister. I _bloody_ aparated! People underestimate that greatly."

"Who is he?", Ginny asked from behind Harry.

"That man, is Gellert Grindelwald." Ginny's eyes widened in fear. She had heard the stories about him.

"At your unavailable service.", Gellert mock bowed. "So, you actually managed to find another? How bloody likely was that? The stupid lizards will be overjoyed..."

"What are you talking about?", Harry asked the man. In response, Gellert dropped his cloak, revealing his left arm. The arm was by no means human anymore. It's hand held only four not-fingers, but claws. The whole appendage was covered in sickly gray scales and a black spike burst through the scales here and there, five or six in total.

"I bloody messed up. I refused what I am- no, was. This", he lifted the arm, "is how it ended for me. Now, before they make me a damn purse, I was tasked to find another."

"Another what?"

"Oh for fucks sake! A bloody human with a dragon soul. You daft; boy? Or tell me, do you really believe it's your animagus that's a dragon? No, you are what,", he sniffed the air for a moment, "A ruddy wolf? Sure you are, by magic that is. But your bleedin' soul is a dragon. Moron..."

"So?", Harry asked.

Gellert rolled his eyes. "That means the bloody dragons are your responsibility now!"

"What-" Harry was cut short when the spear that Grindelwald had leaned on impaled the floor before him, glowing dangerously red. The glowing exploded into a flurry of hundreds of sparks that zoomed through the room. Hundreds, thousands of voices filled the room.

 _Listen, bearer of our soul! You who shall rule, you who shall divide._

 _It is you, who will uphold balance. You, whose destiny is not his own, shall wield destiny itself. You, who has defied death, shall invite him as a friend._

 _And you, who never held anything as his own, shall hold the world in the palm of his hand. Rise, rise from the Shackles of the slave, rise to sit upon the throne of thrones._

 _Rise to sit on the throne of dragons. King of Kings, all hail the Lord of Dragons!_

And then it was all gone.

"Bloody lizards and their light shows..."


	3. A King and his Mistress

**Broken Shackles**

 **Chapter 3**

 **A King and his Mistress**

"Aren't you going to sleep?"

Harry was pacing up and down the common room when Ginny's voice startled him.

"I'm not tired," he lied and instantly knew that she didn't believe him. She sighed and dragged him to the couch where they sat down.

"You know, brooding over his words wont help. The dragon only told you what old Gellert already told us."

Harry shook his head. "I know but... How can I be King? ME? A slave!" Running a hand through his hair he sank down into the cushions.

Shaking her head, Ginny flicked his nose lightly. "I already told you that you are Harry Potter, did I not?"

"You did. Still, how can I be king? How can they expect that from me?"

"Magic choose, not them. And I doubt magic would choose someone incapable of the job." Ginny said.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "It choose Gellert."

That shut Ginny up and left her to curse her choice of words.

"Sleep at least. How would you serve me if you are not clear in mind?" She knew she was playing dirty but that way Harry would sleep. He always obeyed her, no matter what. It was a little scary, really, and she wondered if there was any limit to his loyalty. Would he really do _everything_ she ordered him to do? The thought of having him do her every bidding was strangely enticing.

Anyhow, Harry obeyed and moved up the stairs into the room that had suddenly appeared besides the dorm room Ginny stayed in. Hogwarts did, after all, accommodate her students and seemed to accept Harry as such. Or mistook him for a girl. Whatever the case may be, Harry was fine with the room and glad his mistress wasn't far off.

Of course Harry did not sleep well. Tossing and turning at the memory of the great black dragon that had declared him their master and ruler after summoning him out of the blue into a ancient city somewhere in the mountains of Nepal; sleep did not come by easy. Kalagar, so the dragon named himself, was the oldest of them all with approximately three thousand years of age. He was the voice to the many intents of magic. And it was him who had told Gellert to seek Harry out and hand him the spear that now stood in the corner of the room behind the door. The spear turned out to be a magical weapon, capable to tear through space, as Gellert demonstrated, and would act as his symbol of reign over the balance he was supposed to keep.

It was now his responsibility to dispose of any that sought to harm the living, the dead and the entity that was magic. Mind you, that was a lot. That included Tom Riddle. Apparently, the fool had greatly damaged the balance by taking lives that weren't meant to be taken and was trying to become immortal. That and the fact that he already avoided death with foul magic placed him at the top of the hit list that was now Harry's to work through. Ever since the hundreds of dragons had pledged their loyalty to him, he felt a great change in his magic. It may have been powerful before, but that couldn't be compared to what he was capable of now.

The lady Hogwarts herself had shuddered when he reentered the castle yesterday after his "coronation". She now seemed to obey his wishes. Not that he minded being closer to his m-, to Ginny, but the authority he now held was something he didn't want and yet, he gained it anyways. While he never said it out loud, Hogwarts had barred Gellert from entering the castle. Another thing he was grateful for. Now, Harry had to work out a lot of things. First and foremost: What the fuck to do?

Thankfully, Ginny could help him with that. After one of their training sessions he asked her just that.

"Well, Harry, what do you think a king is?" she asked.

"A person to take care of his subjects, rules his land and definitely not me."

Ginny sighed. "So... become a king then. You have been given the power to, eh, rule I guess."

Harry slumped down in a chair. "And how do I do that? Why should I do that? You, Ginny, are my Mistress. I can not be your king!"

"And why not?"

"What? What do you mean 'Why not'? I am-"

"No you are not a slave!" she interrupted him. "I told you bloody often enough by now! You are Harry Potter. And if Harry Potter is a king then so be it!" Ginny was highly annoyed and stormed of into her dorm room. How could he have so little self esteem? Harry looked after her. He wanted to run after her, to not be upset with him but his inner conflict kept him sitting on the ground. A king. A man of power, honor, respect. His word would be law, HE would be the master. The concept hurt the magic that he used to bind himself as slave. But it didn't hurt as much as it should. The spell was designed to bind his life and will to his mistress' command. He would live and die as needed. Then again, wasn't that what kings did? The good ones? Living for their subjects? The pain subsided, he seemed to be on the right track. But who were these subjects? The dragons? They governed themselves easy enough. The wizards and witches? They didn't even know he existed and probably never would. Magic? It's creations?

"You think too much about it."

Harry had his wand on the newcomers neck before he even looked at the new face. When green eyes met an icy white, Harry managed not to flinch. The same eyes had the dragon that introduced him to all the others.

"Kalagar," Harry said but did not withdraw his wand.

"Your majesty." The man inclined his head, raven hair falling into his face. "I wondered if that haunted mind of yours could make a decision. It seems I did right in coming here." Effortlessly, the elder dragon slipped from Harry's grasp and wordlessly conjured an armchair where he seated himself, waiting for his king to join him.

Harry did not ask how the dragon got in here, he simply conjured a chair of his own and seated himself.

"What am I to do? Who am I to rule over?" Harry asked after a period of silence. The twinge of pain from his magical bind returned.

"As much as you are king, your only subject is the balance of magic, it's health, if you will." Kalagar explained with no expression on his face. "You see, your majesty, those that came before you never had to directly intervene with those who dare to wield your subject. But that vile fool once called Tom Riddle has tainted magic. Like a disease, his actions fouls away at magic like a plague to the blood. Should you choose not to act, the plague will reach those who wield magic and those will wither. The final thing to happen is... unclear." Harry raised and eyebrow as he processed what he was told. The dragon continued. "Magic is the base of existence, of reality and illusion. Should it fall to this plague, it is possible for creation to cease existing."

Harry leaned back in his chair. "If I don't stop this Tom from doing what he's doing, don't stop him from disturbing the balance, people who have magic will die?"

Kalagar nodded. "Mistress Ginny would die?" Harry asked and sat straighter. Again, Kalagar nodded but said nothing. Harry rose from the chair and paced the room.

"So be it, I will do what I can to prevent that. If I have to keep the balance for that, fine." Without another glance back at the already empty chair where the great dragon had sat, he left the room.

 **HP**

"We have a problem."

Ginny looked up from the book she was reading. Harry had summoned it from Merlin knows where. It described the theory behind silent casting and Ginny found it to be incredibly helpfull. Albus Dumbledore stood between the armchairs of the common room, a grave expression on his face.

"We have?" Ginny asked.

"Indeed. As you are aware, Miss Weasly, the students will soon return to the school. And as troublesome as it is, we can not, under no circumstances, let anyone find out that Mr. Potter is bound to you by slave magic. It is highly illegal and, in fact, punishable with the kiss for _both_ parties." Albus shook his head and sunk into one of the armchairs.

"I... We need to think of a way to explain his presence. Revealing him as _the_ Harry Potter would cause immense problems for him and his task."

Ginny frowned. "How would you know of his task?"

Albus returned a less severe frown. "And how would you?"

"Please," Ginny huffed. "As much as I don't like it, I am his mistress. It's save to assume that I know nearly everything about Harry."

Albus nodded. "So again," Ginny spoke, "How do you know of his task?"

When Harry returned from his trip to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, he seemed to have entered the common room at the wrong moment. Currently his m- Ginny was assaulting Albus Dumbledore with a multitude of curses, both verbal and magical. The headmaster in turn looked deeply sad behind his shield, taking the assault without retaliation.

"Ginny?" Harry called, momentarily stopping her rapid casting. "What is going on?"

Ginny met his eyes and he saw the sheer anger in them. One last time she snarled at the headmaster and fired what was obviously a non-verbal bat boogie hex at the old wizard before stalking over to his side. And as if she had to keep Harry from getting lost, she took his hand, standing besides him, glaring daggers at Dumbledore.

"Ah... headmaster? What happened?" he asked again, breaking the silence. Albus dropped his shield and sat down heavily in one of the armchairs, sighing loudly.

"Oh my dear boy, it is not what happened here that Miss Weasly is furious about, it is what happened all these years ago, not long before you were born."

Ginny dragged Harry over to the sofa where they sat down, Ginny still glaring at Albus. " _What_ happened?" Harry asked again, with a slight edge in his voice.

"A prophecy. It was spoken to me by Sybil Trelawney. In essence, it stated that a boy would be born by the end of July to those who had thrive defied the dark lord, that would be the one to end Voldemort. Two would have fit for that. Neville Longbottom and... you. Preparations were made. Both families went into hiding but-"

"Didn't you forget a _tiny_ detail? That you let a spy relay the first part of the prophecy to Tom?" Ginny interrupted, clenching Harry's hand.

"Yes, yes I let that happen." Dumbledore sighed. "I needed Tom to choose, to mark his equal, as the prophecy stated. And in the end, he choose you, Harry. You are the one that will end Tom. Once and for all."

"But that's not all, is it? Out with it you scheming bastard!" Ginny snarled, barely keeping herself from cursing the man again.

Albus shook his head. "No... You needed to be found. Both boys, so he would choose. I convinced your godfather, Sirius Black, to let Peter Pettigrew be the secret keeper for the fidelius charm because I knew Peter would betray them to Tom. I needn't intervene with the Longbottoms, they failed to fully cover their save house with the charm. I.. neglected to point that out."

Harry said not a single word, showed no reaction for the longest time. After what seemed an eternity, he spoke.

"So. It is your fault I have no family? Your fault I ended up as a slave? Your fault that I knew torture before my own name? Your fault that I was ordered to kill people; to bed, be the toy,of these women?" His voice betrayed no emotion and cut like a knife through the air in the room.

Albus looked into these green eyes and saw nothing. They were empty. Slowly, gravely, he nodded. "Yes."

For the longest time, Harry didn't move or react otherwise. Only Ginny was aware that he had tightened the hold on her hand. Finally, he blinked once, something he didn't do either, and stood up. With a questioning look he asked for Ginny to follow him. Without a word, Albus was left behind in the common room were he soaked in his guilt.

"I have decided," Harry whispered as they walked briskly down to the kitchens. Ginny barely heard him, even with her animagus now enhancing her senses.

"You have? So, who are you then?" Ginny didn't manage to draw upon her earlier anger, still, she managed to sound quite stern.

"I am me. And as it turns out, me is neither _the_ Harry Potter nor the slave that came here. No, I'm Harry. A king, a weirdo or so you say, a dragon, a wolf animagus. I have black hair, green eyes that are really bad without contact lenses and... I have you."

Before Ginny had managed to ponder over his answer, Harry halted abruptly and turned around, causing her to crash into his chest. Looking up, she was captured by emerald eyes.

"It doesn't matter if I was or still am bound by the slave contract. I decided that you are whom I do what I do for. Be it making you breakfast or annihilating a dark lord. It is a strange feeling, but I like to do this for you. It's fulfilling. So please, let me be yours to command, not Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived or the weird guy that kind off trapped you into a slave contract but _me._ Be my mistress and I shall be your king."

Ginny smiled up at him. "I can agree to that." Becoming aware of their closeness, Ginny slowly moved away from him and looked the way they had been coming from.

"We need to find out what we will do when the other students return." She looked at Harry. "As much as I hat to admit it, Dumbledore was right. We can't let everybody know that the-boy-who-lived has returned. That would cause a massive uproar."

Harry nodded. "They can't possibly know how I look, right? So I could just change my name. Stick with Harry, introduce me as Harold... Ehm... Evans, yes, Evans, my mother's maiden name."

Ginny grinned. "Well then, Mr. Evans, shall we saunter to the kitchens to dine?"

"Of course, milady. Lead the way," he told her with an elaborate bow. Ginny huffed in mock annoyance and strode down the hallway.

Dobby was pleased when mistress Ginny arrived in the kitchens. He was less pleased to see her slave. As a house elf, he could see the magic that bound them together. The wizard that miss Weazy kept calling 'Harry' seemed to be allowed to serve her while Dobby was refused a contract. It wasn't fair! Ginny had freed him from the bad wizards! He wanted to serve her! As it was custom by now, he engage in a glaring contest with Harry. Harry glared because he was annoyed and Dobby glared because Harry had his job. It was a rather comical sight, really. Dobby came up to Harry's knee so the house elf always conjured a high stool to stand on that brought him up to Harry's chest.

"Dobby," Harry said with a cool voice.

"Miss Weazy," the elf squeaked straight trough Harry where Ginny stood. Harry knew he had lost that one. Growling ever so slightly, he backed away to get some food.

Harry moved so fast, his features blurred to Ginny and before she had even properly seated herself, a meal stood before her. Her favorite, she noted. Harry looked incredibly smug, while Dobby looked utterly defeated. Again, they glared at each other.

"Will you two learn to get along one of these days?" Ginny muttered as she dug into her meal.

"If M-" Ginny threw a slice of carrot at Harry, "-Ginny wishes, I shall. I am certainly capable of it, but I doubt the elf is."

"If's Miss Weazy wishes's, I's shall obey!" Dobby practically sang and hopped of his stool to conjure a drink for Ginny but once again Harry was faster and they again glared at each other. Ginny sighed and continued her meal, her thought more and more drifting to the impending confrontation with her brother and with him, all of her family.

Oh boy, what a bright looking fifth year.

A/N: Okay, sorry for they wait and the basically non-advancement of the story. Still, you can expect this story to end in two or three chapters. Next will be a confrontation with Ginny's brothers and her mother, you shall find out why Harry would be in Gringotts, and if there are Horcruxes. But please, don't expect it anytime soon. I have a hard time bringing up a good chapter for Blind Light as it is.


End file.
